Takako Yuki’s Whimsical Ceramic Sculptures

Japanese artist Takako Yuki’s fantastical ceramic art evokes both feelings of whimsy and uneasiness, with beings that seem birthed from fairytales and the natural world. These often-child-friendly creations contain flourishes of sadness and strangeness. The artist says that there are several emotions at play in the process of forging these works.

“I would love to make the works which I can feel happy when I meet them at first sight,” Yuki says. “(The) motif is not only human but also many kinds of animals, water, wind, and soil, such images (that) come from nature. I try to combine them into one work, and be conscious for ‘coexistence’ and ‘resonance.’ I want to keep creating with concept of joy of life, warmth, transience, and sadness. Things I don’t want to forget. And things I want to be conscious for good.”
It’s hard to imagine these same creatures and emotions working within any other material. In a statement, Yuki has mentioned attempting “texture and color which only ceramics can express,” as part of the process of giving live to these beings from her imagination. The artist has had several solo shows, in Japan and neighboring countries.